Apr 13, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; The Washington Wizards bench celebrates the Wizards win against the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

Wizards Fanbase Remaining Positive Amidst Rough Patch

Originally posted on Washington Wizards on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated May 31, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The New York Knicks have been one of the NBA's best stories in 2025, finally making their long-awaited return to the Eastern Conference Finals after a quarter-century gap in contention.

There's only a few teams who've experienced longer droughts since creeping that close to the NBA Finals. The Charlotte Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans have never made it that far at all, leaving the Washington Wizards as the only franchise who's most recent third round appearance predates the 21st century.

That was in 1977-78, when they won it all, and they made another Finals run the following season behind a 54-28 record. Since then, they've failed to crack 50 wins in a season or win three consecutive playoff rounds.

This is the same franchise whose misfortune has continued carrying over nearly a half-century later, as the team came up well short in this past draft lottery drawing to miss out on several potentially-generational prospects. Despite it all, a recent study from Vegas Insider revealed that Wizards fans are among the most positive of any fan base in the online comments they leave behind.

The Dallas Mavericks have the most negative fan base in the NBA, per @VegasInsider pic.twitter.com/qhgvgprcUj
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 30, 2025

No one, aside for the historically draft-fortunate San Antonio Spurs, has a fanbase whose left behind a less negative online legacy. They've won five championship rings in the last three decades, and have continued building on their future by snatching Victor Wembanyama from Washington's grasps in 2023 before jumping ahead of them in line again in this summer's draft.

Interestingly, the Dallas Mavericks top all fanbases with a 32.41% negativity rate despite pulling through with an all-time stroke of luck mere weeks ago. They and their sub-2% odds at landing the rights to the #1 overall pick somehow converted, granting them top prospect Cooper Flagg while the Wizards went tumbling all the way down to #6.

The front office and the fans have tried brushing this latest cruel twist off, redirecting their draft energy to scouting for who the best available prospect could be within their range. They're confident in the team's eye for talent and the core they've already assembled using picks farther down the last few draft orders, with this latest inconvenience registering as nothing more than yet another speed bump for one of the most weathered fanbases in the league.

This article first appeared on Washington Wizards on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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